I have always considered as a toddler that " belonging " to any religion has fundamentals which is misplaced .

Having done Vipassana , this realization gets all the more clearer , when the suffering of change can be seen afflicting , the high and mighty ,the poor and the poorer, people belonging to that country or this country , that caste or this caste , that religion or this religion.

Everything that we do , and everything that we express ,has a direct bearing on the sensations that is coursing within our body and minds , reflecting the shades of hues of our attachment or detachment to these sensations , which keeps changing from time to time ( both the sensations as well as the degree of our mental reactions to them ) . We dont love any one or anything .

Apart from the ultimate truth of Nibbana , walking on the Noble Eight Fold part ,first brings about this beautiful facet of viewing a situation in multi-dimensional perspectives . As the saying goes " Wisdom is to know things in different ways ".

Nature keeps reflecting the universal truth of suffering in everything that we do , and in everything that we see and feel. Just as there are umpteen moments of death and destruction to multitudes of visible and invisible beings , when we humans go about in making our daily lives happen , even so, there are consequential happenings of the human world triggered by routines of the higher planes . An unavoidable and undeniable truth of life. The misery of living , the suffering, is all but there to be felt and seen , there is nothing buddhist about it.

Hence , all the Buddhas with infinite compassion and toil , go about in inspiring us in breaking the shackles of the prison gates of our minds ..........

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. What is unfortunate? Why is it unfortunate? You said a lot but I couldn't find your point. I'm sorry.

On perhaps a related note...

I think to be accurate, there is no such thing as "Buddhism" or "Buddhist". There is only the Buddha, his teachings, and those who try to implement those teachings. In conversing with people form other religions, it is often convenient to refer to those teachings "Buddhism" and those that try to implement those teachings "Buddhists" but there is some measure of inaccuracy in that.

kc2dpt wrote:I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. What is unfortunate? Why is it unfortunate? You said a lot but I couldn't find your point. I'm sorry.

On perhaps a related note...

I think to be accurate, there is no such thing as "Buddhism" or "Buddhist". There is only the Buddha, his teachings, and those who try to implement those teachings. In conversing with people form other religions, it is often convenient to refer to those teachings "Buddhism" and those that try to implement those teachings "Buddhists" but there is some measure of inaccuracy in that.

I don't, however, find it unfortunate.

Hi Peter,

Yes , your observations are accurate .

Buddhas never refer the laws of dependent origination as theirs to be . The laws of cause and effect are eternal .

It is a deep discovery that they make , and share it for the benefit of countless beings . I am sorry , please forgive me for the inappropriate use of the word "unfortunate" . Unfortunate in a sense , it limits , the genuine universal appeal that the shinning gem of Dhamma is all about.

Its like this , Mother Teresa, firmly believed in a self , yet her actions went on to show that she was much beyond the shackles of a self. On the other hand , I firmly do not believe that there is a self , yet my actions are still very base and ignorant , going on to show there is a , long long way to go ahead ........ the dictates of our living makes all the difference.....

am just a very ignorant wayfarer , who has much to learn.

sanjay

The Path of Dhamma

The path of Dhamma is no picnic . It is a strenuous march steeply up the hill . If all the comrades desert you , Walk alone ! Walk alone ! with all the Thrill !!